Windsor's Medical Officer of Health is responding after the World Health Organization's Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan spoke against mixing vaccines.
Here is what WHO Chief Scientist @doctorsoumya said about mixing and matching #COVID19 vaccine doses at the media briefing on 12 July 2021 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6a9Ei93XPv
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 14, 2021
Dr. Wajid Ahmed clarified the WHO scientist was referring to whether or not people should be "shopping around" for third or even fourth doses on their own, outside of advice from public health agencies.
"The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit continues to follow the advice of Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) which recommends that the mixing of mRNA vaccines is a safe and effective practice. Mixing brands of the same vaccine enables more residents to receive their second dose sooner, providing the protection necessary to prevent transmission of the Delta Variant, which is now the dominant strain in Ontario. The health and safety of all residents remains our top priority, and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit will continue to make recommendations based on scientific evidence, and will always act in the best interest of the community,” said Dr. Ahmed.
Dr. Swaminathan also issued a clarification after her comments were picked up by various media sources.
Individuals should not decide for themselves, public health agencies can, based on available data. Data from mix and match studies of different vaccines are awaited - immunogenicity and safety both need to be evaluated https://t.co/3pdYj4LUdz
— Soumya Swaminathan (@doctorsoumya) July 12, 2021
In Canada, there have been no decisions made on the need for further doses of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 case rate continues to decline in the region. On Thursday, the health unit reported three. Among the new ones, one is a close contact of a confirmed case and two are still under investigation.
There are 19 active cases in the community now, and five of them involve a variant of concern.
Local hospitals are treating three patients who have tested positive for the virus.
